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Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942
www.elsevier.com/locate/asr

Research on the disturbance of ballistic missile to ionosphere by

using 3D ray tracing method
Jinyuan Zhu, Hanxian Fang ⇑
College of Meteorology and Oceanography, National University of Defense Technology, Nanjing 211101, China

Received 6 August 2019; received in revised form 19 October 2019; accepted 21 October 2019
Available online 30 October 2019

Abstract

This study uses the 3D ray tracing to analyse ionospheric disturbance generated by a ballistic missile plume (which was simulated in
our previous work). Ray tracing results show that the 6 MHz radio waves are completely reflected by the ionosphere and cannot reach
the ionospheric disturbance zone. The 8 MHz radio waves partially penetrate the ionospheric disturbance zone, producing a focusing
effect. Most of the 10 MHz radio waves pass through the ionosphere and the disturbance zone. The focusing effect and focus height
are reduced. In the height range 65
400 km, the ray absorption loss of reflection is greater than the transmitted ray. When the ray is
reflected multiple times in the cavity formed by the plume, ray absorption loss greatly increases.
Ó 2019 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Ionosphere; Plume; Ray tracing; Numerical simulation

1. Introduction
In comparison to the short-wavelength band, character-
istics of the ionospheric medium change little over a range
of wavelengths. High-frequency propagation is generally
similar to geometrical optics (i.e. ray theory) (Kelso,
1968), and ray tracing techniques can be used to study
the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Ray tracing,
which is widely used in engineering, is generally-divided
into two types: analytical (Croft, 1968; Dyson and
Bennett, 1988; Norman and Cannon, 1997; Davies and
Rush, 1985) and digital (Kelso, 1968; Haselgrove, 1955;
Jones, 1968). Ray tracing is an effective method for study-
ing wave propagation in the ionosphere, particularly radio
signals.
Analytical ray tracing must establish an ionospheric
model that can be obtained by analysing the ray path
parameters. Analytical ray tracing neglects the geomag-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: fanghx@hit.edu.cn (H. Fang).
netic field influence, and generally only considers the spher-
ical symmetry of the ionosphere. The ray parameter
analysis solution can also be obtained considering simple
tilting (Norman and Cannon, 1997; Davies and Rush,
1985). However, the non-uniform ionosphere cannot be
solved by the analytical method.
Digital ray tracing studies are mainly concerned with
two-dimensional tracing that ignores geomagnetic field
influences and collision effects (Coleman, 1997, 1998;
Zhong et al., 2001). If these are to be considered, as well
as the non-uniform ionosphere, 3D digital ray tracing must
be taken into consideration (Jones, 1968).
As the natural medium of radio propagation, the iono-
sphere has a significant impact on the quality of wireless
communication, navigation, and positioning. As human
activities expand into space, in addition to natural distur-
bances such as solar flares and magnetic storms, products
including rocket plumes inevitably disturb the ionosphere.
When the Pioneer II spacecraft launched in 1959, Booker
(1961) first observed the existence of ionospheric holes
using a drop tester; these were repeatedly observed during

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2019.10.028
0273-1177/Ó 2019 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
934 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942

later rocket launches. During the launch of the US Saturn

V rocket in 1973, observations from the ATS-3 and ATS-5
geosynchronous satellites showed that, due to the large
amount of exhaust gas (H2O) released by the rocket, an
ionosphere hole was created. The hole - an ionospheric
electron density depletion region - had a diameter of
1000 km at a height of 300 km, which interrupted short-
wave communication over a large part of the Atlantic
(Mendillo et al., 1975a,b; Zinn et al., 1982). Since then,
numerous space chemical release experiments have taken
place, including: Brazilian ionospheric modification exper-
iments (BIME) (Klobuchar and Abdu, 1989), active mag-
netospheric particle tracer explorers (AMPTE) (Gurnett
et al., 1986; Bernhardt et al., 1987), combined-release and
radiation effects satellite (CRRES) (Huba et al., 1992; Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of ray tracing in a spherical coordinate system.
Bernhardt et al., 1993; Wescott et al., 1994), and charged
aerosol release experiments (CARE) (Bernhardt et al., the point Q (northern hemisphere). The wave vector at
2011). Savastano et al. (2019) used real-time TEC observa- !
the Q point is k ¼ ðk r ; k u ; k h Þ, where k r is perpendicular
tions obtained from dual frequency GEO satellites to
to the ground, k u points to the geographically east direc-
describe the physical characteristics of the ionospheric
plasma density depletion induced by a Falcon 9 rocket. tion, and k h points to the geographical south direction.
These previous studies have primarily used experiments In the spherical coordinate system, the ray equation can
to understand the release of H2O in ballistic missile plumes. be written in component form (Jones, 1975)
Our previous work (Zhu et al., 2019), however, considered 8
> 1 @H =@k r
0 ¼ 
dr
>
> c @H =@x
the effects of rocket flight speed and attitude, release and >
>
dp
>
>
flow rate, and extended the two-dimensional plasma diffu- > dp0 ¼  rc1 @H
>
dh =@k h
>
>
@H =@x
sion equation into three dimensions, while carrying out >
>
>
< dp0 ¼  rcsinh
du 1 @H =@k u
simulations of the spatiotemporal evolution of artificial @H =@x
ionospheric disturbances. This current work builds on 1 @H =@r ð1Þ
>
>
dk r
¼ þ k h dpdh
0 þ k u sinh
du

our previous study by focusing on the influence of artificial > dp0 c
@H =@x
> dp
0

>
>
ionospheric disturbance structure on short-wave signals >
> 0 ¼
dk h 1 1 @H =@h
 k h dpdr0 þ rk u cosh dp du
>
> @H =@x 0
>
>
dp r c


using 3D ray tracing. >
> dku ¼ 1 1 @H=@u  k sinh dr  rk cosh dh
After obtaining the spatiotemporal distribution of neu- : 0 u 0 u 0
dp rsinh c @H =@x dp dp
tral gas and electron density, the influence of chemical
release on short-wave propagation was simulated using Here, p0 is the group path, it represents the wave packet
the three-dimensional digital ray tracing method. In this distance moving at the speed of light. k r ; k h ; k u are the three
study, the fast algorithm was used for short-wave ray trac- components of the wave vector in the spherical coordinate
ing, and the group path step size was adaptively adjusted system, c is the speed of light, and H is the Hamiltonian.
based on the plasma frequency gradient. The elevation The relationship between H and the wave vector and the
angle of the simulated short wave was 82°–87°. The simu- phase refractive index n is (Jones, 1975)
lated ballistic missile plume release point and the ray emis-   2

1 c 
sion point were 32.0°N, 119°E.
H ¼ Re k þ kh þ ku  n
2 2 2 2
ð2Þ
2 x2 r
2. Ray tracing
At short wavelengths, due to high wave frequency, the
2.1. Principle of ray tracing influence of the magnetic field can be neglected when con-
sidering wave folding and reflection. The ionosphere can be
In Fig. 1, Earth is approximated as a sphere; OXYZ regarded as an isotropic medium, the refractive index does
forms a Cartesian coordinate system. The spherical coordi- not change with the direction of the wave vector, and the
nate origin O is at Earth’s centre, OXY is the equatorial wave does not undergo magnetic splitting. This is an ideal
plane, and OX points to the 0° warp; OY points to 90°E, situation and only suitable for approximating specific
and OZ points to the North Pole along the Earth’s axis. problems. In addition, the collision only causes the absorp-
The point of the Q coordinate in the coordinate system is tion loss of energy, and the calculation of the wave detec-
(r, u, h), where r is the distance between the point and tion does not need to consider the collision effect. Thus,
the centre of Earth; u is the angle from OX to the east the refractive index n can be simplified to
and the angle of the longitude required to reach the Q
point; and h is the complementary angle of the latitude of n2 ¼ 1  ðf N Þ2 =f 2 ð3Þ
 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942 935

where f N is the plasma frequency and f is the wave fre- The following makes northern latitudes positive and the
quency. H can then be calculated as southern latitude negative:
 longi ¼ u ð0  longi  2pÞ ð7Þ
1 c2 2
H¼ k  n2 ð4Þ
2 x2 The ground distance and orientation of the ray location,
relative to the launch point, can be obtained by simple
According to Eq. (4), and using the isotropic nature of spherical geometry. Other coordinate transformations are
the medium and the reciprocal relationship between the more complicated. Corresponding to the direction of wave
phase and group refractive indices without the magnetic propagation, people are accustomed to using azimuth and
field, the ray equation can be simplified to elevation angles, such as antenna elevation angle and
8 dr launch direction. It is relatively complicated to convert
0 ¼
c
>
> x r
k
>
>
dp
the wave vector into a spherical coordinate system. Such
>
>
> dp0 ¼ rx k h
dh c
> a transform is explained below.
>
>
>
>
0 0 0 0
0 ¼
>
du c
k Firstly, the Cartesian coordinate system O X Y Z is
>
> dp rxsinh u
>
> h 2i established with the launch point as the apex; the X Y Z
0 0 0
>
> ðf N Þ
>
> @ axis is along the south, east and vertical directions, respec-
< dkr0 ¼  0:5x f2
þ rx k h þ rx
c 2 c 2
ku
dp c @r tively. They have the same direction with the three vectors
> 0 h 2i 1
>
> ðf N Þ ih ; iu ; ir of this point in the spherical coordinates system.
>
> 1 @ 0:5x
@
>  xc k r k h þ xc k 2u cothA
2
0 ¼  c
dk h f
>
> @h
The component of the wave vector in the coordinate system
>
>
dp r 0 0 0 0
>
> O X Y Z is
>
> 0 h 2i 1
>
> ðf N Þ 8
>
> < k X 0 ¼ jK jcosbcosðp  aÞ ¼ jK jcosbcosa
@
> >
¼ 1 @ 0:5x  xc k r k u sinh  xc k h k u coshA
2
>
>
dk u f

: dp0 rsinh c @u
k Y 0 ¼ jK jcosbsinðp  aÞ ¼ jK jcosbsina ð8Þ
>
: 0
ð5Þ k Z ¼ jK jsinb
0 0 0 0 0
These ray equation components ignore the magnetic Next, O X Y Z is moved along Z to the core of the earth
00 00 00 00
field and collision. These components are related to the to become a new coordinate system O X Y Z . The three
position of a given point and the component of the wave components of the lower wave vector are the same as the
0 0 0
vector at that point, as well as the rate of change of the three components in the O X Y Z coordinate system.
00
plasma parameter at that point. The equations are solved Rotate the coordinate system around the Y axis by h
0
00
according to the step of the group path p , with the angle, so that the Z axis coincides with the Z axis. Finally,
obtained points connected. This allows the ray trajectory 00
rotate the coordinate system around the Z axis by u angle,
in a spherical coordinate system to be calculated. 00
so that Y coincides with the Y axis. After two coordinate
00 00 00 00
rotations, O X Y Z completely coincides with the coordi-
2.2. Coordinate system conversion nate system OXYZ. The component of the wave vector in
the coordinate system OXYZ is
The above three-dimensional ray tracing is calculated 2 3 2 3
assuming a spherical coordinate system. However, other kX k X 00
6 7 6 7
coordinate systems are often used; for example, latitude 4 kY 5 ¼ T Z0 0 T Y 0 0 4 kY 0 0 5 ð9Þ
and longitude are used in the ionospheric electron concen- kZ kZ0 0
tration distribution model, and the azimuth is generally
2 3
used in wave propagation. Coordinate transformation cosh sinh 0
are, therefore, required when considering different iono- T Z 0 0 ¼ 4 sinh cosh 0 5, and is a coordinate transfor-
spheric models. We now discuss coordinate transforma- 0 0 1
tions in ray tracing. mation matrix corresponding2to the rotation of3the u angle
The ray coordinates are described by r, h, u in the spher- cosh 0 sinh
around the Z axis. T Y 0 0 ¼ 4 0 0 5, and is a
00
ical coordinate system, while the ionospheric parameters 1
on the ray propagation path are often given in geographic sinh 0 cosh
coordinates (latitude and longitude). At each point of the coordinate transformation matrix corresponding to the
ray path, in order to obtain the ionospheric parameters 00
angle h of the rotation around the Y axis. Converting
at any point, the geographic coordinates of the point must 00 00 00 00

be obtained. Assuming a spherical Earth (Fig. 1), the
ground position (latitude, longitude) corresponding to each
point (r, h, u) in the spherical coordinate system is
lanti ¼ p=2  h ðp=2  lanti  p=2Þ
the OXYZ coordinate system vector into the O X Y Z
coordinate system, only requires a matrix inverse opera-
tion. Other coordinate transformations involved in ray
tracing can be implemented in this coordinate
ð6Þ transformation.
936 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942

2.3. Adaptive variable step size Compared with the traditional empirical formula
method, the model is calculated using the more accurate
Digital ray tracing can produce errors. The main error is ray propagation path; resulting absorption loss values will,
derived from the group path step size in the Runge-Kutta therefore, be more reliable. However, the loss value
method; a large group path step size increases error, while obtained here is only the absorption attenuation of the
small group path step size increases calculation time. How- radio wave in the ionosphere, and cannot be used as the
ever, calculation speed and accuracy affect each other. The total loss value of the propagation process. Other loss fac-
step size must, therefore, be appropriately set for each tors are not considered.
2
application. The gradient of ðffN2Þ can directly affect wave
2.5. Electron collision with different particles
vector direction, which in turn affects the ray path. Step
size should be adjusted according to the gradient size of
Electron-particle collisions are an important factor in
ðf N Þ2
f2
: wave energy loss. The collision frequency between different
2
particles and electrons is shown in Table 1.
0
p ðffN2Þ
dP ¼ h i h 2i h i ð10Þ 3. Previous work
ðf N Þ 2 ðf N Þ ðf N Þ2
@ @ @
f2 f2 f2
@r
þ @u
þ @h
Our previous work (Zhu et al., 2019) was based on
where p is the empirical coefficient, often taken as 0.01. To numerical simulations of chemical release, and the princi-
provide a suitable range, upper and lower limits of step size ple and method of detecting the launch vehicle by the
(dP0 ) were set: sky-wave over-the-horizon radar. By analysing the ballistic
0
missile’s flight speed, attitude and nozzle flow, work on the
0:01 km  dP  0:1 km ð11Þ feasibility of the ballistic missile observation was carried
out, as well as numerical simulations of ionosphere distur-
bance generated by the ballistic missile.
2.4. Absorption loss model of radio waves in the ionosphere
3.1. Introduction to the previous work
Ignoring Earth’s magnetic field, the Appleton-Hartree
formula can be simplified to The main purpose of our previous work was to provide
X theoretical guidance for the detection of ballistic missiles by
2
n2 ¼ ðl  ivÞ ¼ 1  ð12Þ sky-wave over-the-horizon radar. Firstly, the optimum way
1  iZ
to detect ballistic missiles was analysed. Based on the diffu-
The expression of an electric wave propagating in the sion model of neutral gas in the ionosphere, the chemical
ionosphere is: reaction model and the plasma diffusion model was used
! ! to study electron and H2O particle distribution from the
F ¼ F 0 ei xtk r ¼ F 0 ei xtnk0 r release of the ballistic missile plume in the ionosphere. Its
! ! disturbance on the ionosphere, taking into account missile
¼ F 0 ek0 v r ei xtlk0 r ð13Þ flight speed and the plume flow (assuming a vertical missile
trajectory), was analysed. The effects of different seasons,
where k 0 ¼ x=c, x is the angular frequency of the electric
locations, and time of day were compared.
wave, c is the speed of light, and !
r is the wave diameter
of the electromagnetic wave. The amplitude of the electro- 3.2. Previous work results
magnetic wave F’ can then be expressed as
0 ! ! Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the numerical simulation results
F ¼ F 0 ek0 v r ¼ F 0 eb r ð14Þ
of ionosphere disturbance generated by a ballistic missile
The absorption coefficient is plume (Zhu et al., 2019). The results show that H2O in
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi the plume can effectively dissipate the background elec-
x x X trons to form a spindle-shaped hole in the ionosphere.
b ¼ v ¼ Im 1  ð15Þ
c c 1  iZ The height of the cavity radius corresponds to the electron
density peak in the background ionosphere. The effect is
From the ray differential equation, the electromagnetic greater during the day (compared to the night), and at
wave path C can be obtained. The absorption coefficient lower latitudes (compared to higher).
can be integrated along C to obtain the electromagnetic
wave absorption attenuation 4. Short-wave ray tracing
Z
L ¼ 8:68 bdlðdBÞ ð16Þ The chemical release process during ballistic missile
C plume injection is complicated; missile speed, attitude,
 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942 937

Table 1
Collision frequency between different particles and electrons. T e refers to the electron temperature, n represents the corresponding particle concentration,
and t represents the collision frequency.
Particle type Particle Calculation formula of collision frequency
Neutral molecule N2 te;N 2 ¼ 2:33  1017 nN 2  1  1:21  104 T e  T e
O2 te;O2 ¼ 1:82  1016 nO2  1 þ 0:036T 0:5
e  T e0:5
O te;O ¼ 2:65  1016 nO  T e0:5
Ion NOþ =Oþ 2 =O
þ
te;i ¼ 54:5  105 ni  T e3=2
Total te ¼ te;N 2 þ te;O2 þ te;O þ te;NOþ þ te;Oþ2 þ te;Oþ

forms. This paper, therefore, is based on the spindle-

Fig. 2. Electron density profile 100 s after H2O release (from a ballistic
missile) in the ionosphere. The simulation assumes daytime conditions in
Nanjing.
shaped ionosphere cavity formed by the ballistic missile
plume from our previous work (Zhu et al., 2019), using
three-dimensional ray tracing to analyse this result.
At present, studies are most concerned with two-
dimensional ray tracing which ignores the influence of the
geomagnetic field, or three-dimensional ray tracing that
also ignores geomagnetic field influences and only consid-
ers a non-uniform ionosphere. While such approaches are
suitable for general application, these can produce serious
errors for high accuracy applications, such as high-
frequency radar positioning.
To study the influence of the electron density perturba-
tion structure (generated by H2O release) on the informa-
tion transmission link, short-wave ray tracing was carried
out to simulate propagation path and signal direction
changes after short-wave signals crossed the disturbance
zone. The electron density perturbation pattern was
selected at a time of 100 s after H2O release based on exper-
imental results; this time period allows sufficient develop-
ment of the ionospheric disturbance. The initial release
height was 200 km, the release of H2O was 2240 mol, and
its effect on short-wave propagation was simulated. Radia-
tion is emitted from the ground directly beneath the initial
release point. Short-wave rays emitted a beam every 0.5°
from 82° to 87°.
Fig. 4 shows the illustrations that rays of two different
frequencies pass through the undisturbed ionosphere dur-
ing the day and night. As can be seen, due to large concen-
tration of the ionospheric parameters during the day,
6 MHz rays will reflect and refract when passing through
the ionosphere. This phenomenon is much weakened with
frequency increased to 8 MHz. During the night, due to
the small concentration of the ionospheric parameters,
the reflection and refraction of the two frequencies are
weak.

4.1. Comparison of different frequencies in the same

Fig. 3. Electron density profile 100 s after H2O release (from a ballistic
missile) in the ionosphere. The simulation assumes night conditions in
Nanjing.
and nozzle flow must all be considered. Modelling results
show that the release source is a function of time and space,
and the produced ionospheric holes can take various
disturbance zone
As shown in Fig. 5, the propagation of the 11 short-
wave 6 MHz rays (with ground angles between 82° and
87°) exhibits diversity, with clear horizontal direction
asymmetry. All waves fail to pass through the ionosphere
and reflect at a height of 150 km. This is comparable to
the lowest part of ionospheric hole (Fig. 2). This suggests
938 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942

Fig. 4. (a) 3D illustration of 6 MHz rays passing through the undisturbed ionosphere during the day in Nanjing. (b) 3D illustration of 8 MHz rays passing
through the undisturbed ionosphere during the day in Nanjing. (c) 3D illustration of 6 MHz rays passing through the undisturbed ionosphere during the
night in Nanjing. (d) 3D illustration of 8 MHz rays passing through the undisturbed ionosphere during the night in Nanjing.

that this frequency of wave is not suitable for observing
and tracking ballistic missiles.
Fig. 6 illustrates the paths of 8 MHz short-wave rays.
These pass through the disturbed ionosphere region,
though the path is mostly reflection. Because the iono-
spheric hole exhibits a spindle shape, almost all short-
wave rays with a large angle to the ground are reflected.
Lower angle waves have a significant refraction, and a sec-
ondary reflection occurs inside the cavity. At the same
time, short-wave rays have a certain focusing effect, tending
toward a height of 350 km.
With short-wave frequency increased to 10 MHz, most
waves penetrate the ionospheric hole (Fig. 7). The focal
point of the propagation path is higher than the 8 MHz
short waves, while absorption loss in the ionosphere is
slightly lower than the 8 MHz waves due to lower path
bending. The focus point increases with the ray frequency
increase, and the focusing effect is weakened.
In summary, the reaction of the ballistic missile plume in
the ionosphere will cause various changes in short-wave
propagation paths. The multiple reflection phenomenon
is prominent, resulting in prolonged propagation paths,
which are more likely to cause weakening of wireless sig-
nals and affect communication system performance. It is
necessary to understand short-wave frequencies for their
detection and tracking.
4.2. Comparison of the same frequency for different
disturbance zones
Here, rays are fixed to the same frequency to understand
the difference in ray paths in two different disturbance fields
(those in Figs. 2 and 3). Both locations are in Nanjing (32°
N, 119° E). We analyse the variation between night
(LT00:00) and day (LT12:00).
As ion concentration in the ionosphere at night is very
low, and close to zero below 250 km, the paths of the
6 MHz short-wave rays are very smooth (Fig. 8). These
rays undergo refraction above a height of ~300 km. The
8 MHz rays also show a similar result (Fig. 9). The height
 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942 939

Fig. 5. 3D illustration of 6 MHz rays passing through the ionospheric hole during the day in Nanjing.

Fig. 6. 3D illustration of 8 MHz rays passing through the ionospheric hole during the day in Nanjing.

at which the short waves are refracted is improved, but no
reflection occurs when compared to the daytime (Fig. 6).
This demonstrates that short-wave rays, of the same fre-
quency, have a large path differences in different distur-
bance fields generated by ballistic missiles. Therefore,
when detecting ballistic missiles, different ionospheric con-
ditions require adjustment of the ray frequency.
4.3. Absorption loss of radio waves in the disturbed
ionosphere
According to Eqs. (12)–(16), the absorption loss of the
electromagnetic wave is calculated for the disturbed iono-
sphere after H2O release from the ballistic missile. Results
are shown in Table 2.
940 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942

Fig. 7. 3D illustration of 10 MHz rays passing through the ionospheric hole during the day in Nanjing.

Fig. 8. 3D illustration of 6 MHz rays passing through the ionospheric hole during the night in Nanjing.

Signal attenuation, when the short-wave propagates to
heights of 65–400 km, is shown in Table 2 and Fig. 10.
For the 6 MHz wave, many rays have a high loss rate
because the short wave of this frequency is reflected multi-
ple times within the ionospheric hole. This greatly increases
propagation path length and absorption loss. As ray fre-
quency increases, the short-wave loss generally decreases
- absorption loss of the reflected 8 MHz frequency ray is
lower than that of the 6 MHz frequency ray. The
10 MHz frequency wave penetrates the ionosphere and is
less affected by reflection; absorption loss during transmis-
sion is lower.
 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942 941

Fig. 9. 3D illustration of 8 MHz rays passing through the ionospheric hole during the night in Nanjing.

Table 2
Attenuation of short-wave signal after ballistic missile plume releases H2O
(unit: dB).
Elevation angle/° 6 MHz 8 MHz 10 MHz
82 1249.663 62.00506 24.05636
82.5 1323.632 60.73113 24.01992
83 77.86258 60.7712 24.01124
83.5 2099.342 60.288 23.98973
84 809.8654 59.80677 23.96147
84.5 2625.915 59.99198 23.96276
85 2130.527 59.66086 23.99754
85.5 849.5553 59.6947 24.02674
86 718.5515 59.83766 24.03207
86.5 855.9158 59.97635 24.1149
87 1302.297 60.05647 24.16628

5. Conclusion

Propagation of short waves in an ionospheric hole gen-

erated by ballistic missiles exhibits diversity and can pro-
duce a focusing effect. The focal point increases with
frequency increase and the focusing effect weakens. Study-
ing the focusing effect is important for improving the effect
of high-frequency electromagnetic waves heating the
ionosphere.
Ray tracing analysis results showed that the 6 MHz
radio wave was completely reflected by the ionosphere
and could not reach the ionospheric disturbance zone.
The 8 MHz radio wave did penetrate the ionosphere; the
radio waves which reached the ionospheric disturbance
zone underwent complex winding in the ionospheric distur-
Fig. 10. Comparison of short-wave signal attenuation after ballistic
missile plume releases H2O.
bance zone and produced a certain focusing effect. Part of
the signal was reflected back to the ground. Many 10 MHz
radio waves penetrated the ionosphere and the disturbance
zone. However, the refractive index of the signal increases
due to electron density decreases in the disturbance zone.
This leads to a weakened focusing effect and a lowering
of the focus point height.
Calculating the absorption loss of the ray in the iono-
sphere after the ballistic missile plume was released shows
942 J. Zhu, H. Fang / Advances in Space Research 65 (2020) 933–942
that, in the height range of 65–400 km, the ray absorption
loss of reflection is greater for rays occurring within the
ionospheric hole than for ray passing through the iono-
sphere. In the case of multiple reflections, the ray absorp-
tion loss increases significantly.
In this study, the ray tracing method was used to study
the effect of ionospheric disturbance on the propagation of
short-wave signals. The results of short-wave ray tracing
show that the propagation path of the signal after different
frequency short-wave signals traverse the disturbance zone
changes significantly, resulting in complex effects such as
diffraction, focusing and anomalous reflection. The diffrac-
tion and anomalous reflection effects of short-wave signals
have applications for improving short-wave channels and
even establishing new short-wave communication links.
The focusing effect of short-wave signals is of great signif-
icance for studying the sky-wave over-the-horizon radar
for ballistic missile detection.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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